Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Garnett, who has been accustomed to playing before raucous fans in Boston, wants more from the home crowd after a lukewarm atmosphere especially during the first half of game 3 of the Nets-Raptors series on Friday.
"Could do better. I was expecting Brooklyn to be real hostile, New York-style," Garnett said as quoted by New York Daily News. His comments came after teammate Paul Pierce, also used to wild playoff games in Boston, said the Brooklyn crowd should give the team a spark at home. "Knowing what it's like to come here as the opposition, so our crowd could do better. But they were there when they needed us, and we fed off of them," said Pierce.
Aside from the subdued atmosphere at Barclays Center, the fans arrived late for the game. They were also quiet until Pierce turned back the clock with a poster slam and Garnett screamed wildly after grabbing a loose ball.
Even Nets veteran star Deron Williams noticed that the crowd was very indifferent to the game. He told NY Daily News: "Yeah (the crowd) was a little slow to start. Seven o'clock game on a Friday night in New York, that's tough. So hopefully it will be better come Sunday."
Unlike the crowd in Toronto which cheered wildly during games 1 and 2, the Brooklyn crowd was somehow tame. There were some celebrities in attendance most notably pop star Rihanna, and that could have taken the focus out of the audience just like in most LA Lakers games.
Still, the Nets were able to defeat the Raptors, 102-98, to take a 2-1 series lead.
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